Friday morning, Nintendo held a Direct event for Animal Crossing: New Horizon that included key announcements regarding its Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass subscription. The Expansion Pass is now confirmed to cost $50 a year, $30 more than the standard Nintendo Switch Online subscription, and will launch on October 25. The price is much higher than expected, and has led Nintendo and PlayStation fans to start up a conversation regarding how Nintendo Switch Online compares to PlayStation Plus.
The conversation starts with the price point of Nintendo Switch Online. $50 per year is just over $4 a month, which isn't outrageous. However, the Expansion Pass raises Nintendo Switch Online's price by over 100% and only adds access to digital games rather than any new service, albeit exclusive digital games. Nintendo fans' conflicted feelings over paying additional money just for digital games turned into an argument over other parallel subscription services from PlayStation and Xbox.
PlayStation also provides a subscription service like Nintendo Switch Online that's required for online services on PlayStation platforms. As a bonus, PlayStation includes free monthly games. One year of PlayStation Plus is $59.99, which is $10 more a year than Nintendo Switch Online and its Expansion Pass. PlayStation Plus does not allow subscribers to opt-out of its free monthly games to pay a lower fee, but PlayStation Plus also isn't required to play free-to-play games on PlayStation platforms.
Comparing prices, Nintendo Switch Online plus Expansion Pass is $50 a year and PlayStation Plus is $60 (though it can be found significantly discounted). Comparing services, both offer access to multiplayer, to start. Nintendo then offers exclusive access to a library of Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, and Sega Genesis games, online multiplayer for those games, cloud saves, app access, and extra rewards. PlayStation Plus offers free monthly games, member discounts, DLC bonuses, 100GB of cloud storage, and Share Play.
There are good points on both sides of the argument. Nintendo's service is, on paper, cheaper. However, PlayStation Plus is routinely on sale for around $40. Nintendo Switch users can opt-out of the Expansion Pass, though PlayStation users don't need PlayStation Plus at all for free-to-play games. The most even of takes is that both services are great value for users who primarily play on that specific platform, whereas other services are less valuable if the platform is only played secondarily.
Ultimately, it's hard to argue that Nintendo Switch Online and its Expansion Pass is too expensive when PlayStation Plus is similarly featured and priced. The two services due offer different rewards, the value of which will vary from person to person. For dedicated Nintendo fans, $50 a year for Nintendo 64 games with online multiplayer access alone is well worth the price of admission.
Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pass launches on October 25.